The Yankees have become cheap, and no one seems worried

Some time in the last few years, when no one was looking, the Yankees got cheap.

Not ‘Marlins cheap’ or ‘Mets cheap,’ but cheap nonetheless. They spoke endlessly of getting under the luxury tax threshold, they let Robinson Cano walk away, they limited themselves to low-commitment trades last offseason and they declined to spend a dime in free agency this winter.

You might consider this strategy wise and responsible, but it’s not. It’s cheap. It’s the classic case of valuing the next dollar more than the next win, the brand of attitude that gets ownership groups booed and even run out of town.

The Yankees and their owners, Hal and Hank Steinbrenner, have plenty of money. According to Forbes, the team’s revenue was $508 million in 2014, by far the highest in baseball. Forbes, known for under-valuing sports franchises, valued the franchise at $3.2 billion, again tops in the sport. Two years ago, the Yankees sold the majority stake in the YES Network in a deal that valued the network at $3.9 billion. Cash flow is no problem.

The Yankees have the money to spend on free agents every offseason. They have enough money to blow past the luxury tax threshold no matter the rates. They have the money to spend just as much as the Dodgers do and then some more on top of it. They have the money to ignore ugly contracts and proceed like they’re not even there.

But they don’t do any of those things.

Last season the Yankees had the second-highest payroll in baseball, but were closer to fourth than first. They ranked comfortably in the bottom half of the league in payroll as a percentage of revenue, based on 2014 revenue figures and 2015 payroll.

And this offseason the Red Sox and Tigers have closed to gap by signing expensive free agents while the Yankees have basically sat on their hands. Two or three years from now, the Yankees will almost certainly still lead the league in revenue but could rank fourth or fifth in payroll.

The weird thing about the Yankees’ increasing cheapness is that, as far as I can tell, fans don’t seem overly worried or angered. There’s little outrage that while the Red Sox are off bringing in David Price the Yankees are preparing to go begin the season with CC Sabathia in the starting rotation. No consternation that the Yankees avoid spending despite having no position player who’s a strong bet on to make the 2016 All-Star team. No worry that the only place the Yankees seem willing to devote resources is their bullpen.

There seem to be a few reasons everyone is so relaxed about the Steinbrenners slowly turning into the Wilpons.

First, fans have generally bought into the idea that the Yankees are handcuffed by deals they gave out in the past, specifically during the offseason before the 2009 season and the offseason before the 2014 season. The idea is that because the Yankees already have expensive players at nearly every position, they are stuck with those players, regardless of their performance, until their deals expire. But this is factually inaccurate. As mentioned above, the Yankees have the cash to bring in pricey players at positions where they already have big contracts. They could afford to sign Yovani Gallordo and send Sabathia to the bullpen. They could afford to bring in, say, Pedro Alvarez even if they don’t plan to play him everyday. They could afford to pay Dexter Fowler or even Justin Upton and bump Carlos Beltran to the bench, and if Beltran doesn’t like that, they could afford to cut or trade him while eating his whole salary.

The Yankees have enough money to totally ignore their previous mistakes and keep spending. They choose not to.

Another reason we’ve all basically accepted the new austere Yankees is that we equate inexpensive contracts with youth, and everyone agrees this team should get younger. But the Steinbrenners wouldn’t have to sacrifice the future to pay for a more competitive team now. Spending on a top-shelf starting pitcher doesn’t mean demoting Luis Severino or Nate Eovaldi. And if the Yankees are committed to Didi Gregorius and Greg Bird as long-term starters, they could take care not to block their positions. But trotting out near-replacement-level Beltran and Chase Headley doesn’t have anything to do with youth, nor does sticking with Sabathia in the rotation.

The final reason fans have given the Yankees a pass on their spendthrift ways is a little less concrete and requires some psycho-analysis. I think Yankee supporters remain a little embarrassed about the relative failures of the post-dynasty era. Throughout the mid-2000s and into the 2010s, the Yankees strategy was buy, buy, buy, and for a while it won them almost nothing (though that 2009 World Series title was nice). During my formative years following baseball, the Yankees spent big every season, only to lose early in the playoffs every season. Yankee fans were mocked each October for our team bowing out early despite its gaudy payrolls.

It’s hard to say to what extent the Yankees’ playoff losses had to do with the way they built their team as opposed to the whims of variance, but I would bet a lot of Yankee fans are fine with laying low in free agency because they feel like spending indiscriminately has been tried and has (mostly) failed and because that approach was a bit embarrassing anyway. It feels nice that now the Dodgers, not the Yankees, are baseball’s poster-boys of excess.

But that doesn’t mean we should sit by as the Steinbrenners prioritize boardroom success over on-field success. Hal and Hank are reaping huge profits while the team enters its fourth straight season as a borderline-playoff team. Yankee fans loved George Steinbrenner because he placed an undeniable emphasis on winning and didn’t mind investing in that cause. Now, while owners like Mark Walter and Mike Illitch follow in The Boss’s ideological footsteps, King George’s own sons have gone frugal.

No longer are the Yankees doing all they can to maximize the franchise’s short- and long-term success, and that ought to make the team’s fans just a little bit angry.

Alex is recent graduate of Northwestern University and a huge baseball nut. He has written (mostly about sports and mostly about baseball) for SI.com, the Hartford Courant, AOL.com, The Comeback and more.

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40 comments on “The Yankees have become cheap, and no one seems worried”

Joshua

Im ok with not spending on high priced free agents now and letting the young guys show what they can do to build a foundation. After C.C., Tex, Beltran, and AROD come off the books I expect them to spend big but on the right pieces that fit together. If that doesn’t happen then we show all be very worried about what the Yankees have become.

Hey Richie, thanks for reading. I have to ask though, if the Yankees aren’t being cheap and are merely trying not to pack the books before the 2018 offseason, why didn’t they sign Yoan Moncada? Why weren’t they in on any of the guys who got short FA deals this offseason, like Nori Aoki, Doug Fister, Rich Hill, Mat Latos, Asdrubal Cabrera, John Lackey, etc.? And why are they always complaining about a luxury tax they’re entirely able to pay?

The fact the Yankees have paid the luxury tax every single year it is has been in play is a reason why they would like to not pay it anymore and reset their tax clock which will allow them to maximize their revenue. You cite their revenue but failed to correlate that to their actual operating budget which is the more important figure. The $508MM is irrelevant when half of it is spent on payroll and another third is spent on a tax that they can control by not overspending anymore in free agency.

The Yanks were in on Moncada, but were outbid by the Red Sox who were more comfortable bidding $30+ MM for a player that has no MLB experience than the Yanks who went as high as $25MM. As for the rest of the names that you listed not a single one of them is remotely a difference maker.

The Yanks current OF roster consists of Gardner, Ellsbury, and Beltran along with Hicks and a slew of young players like Heatchott, Williams, and Gamel. Grabbing a player like Aoki would serve what purpose? It doesn’t make them better and is just an added cost. Fister, Hill, Latos, and Cabrera are all avg to bad players who command veteran level salaries yet aren’t better than a single player that would be in front of them on the Yanks roster.

Lackey is the only “high end player” you mention and he struggled in the AL East previously and is 35 yrs old, so that wouldn’t be getting younger and it isn’t a guarantee of getting better.

It isn’t smart business to just spend money just because and it certainly isn’t smart money when you are spending money on players that are duplicate on your roster and won’t make you any better.

I believe cheapness has nothing to do with the construction of the Yankees. Is it cheap for a millionaire to buy a $50 bottle of wine instead of a $500 one? No, maybe he just doesn’t like wine that much.

The reason because the Yankees don’t go after these free agents is because they aren’t any good. Also having a team full of FAs is no way to construct a team. The reason why the Yankees were successful in 90s is due to building a young core (Jeter, Rivera, Williams, Posada, Pettite) and then adding players that will cost money later on. Spending money foolishly is counter productive.

They yanks are good where they are and their patience will pay off in the short and long term. I promise you that.

Alex, just because you can spend a ton of money on some of the players you mentioned, doesnt mean you should. All of those players are not any better than the players they have and at a cheaper price. All the moves you want are bad moves. Cashman knows what he is doing, how many titles have you won?

People complain about the Yankees when they are spending calling them the evil empire and they buy championships. Now they are being much smarter bout their investments and they still get this garbage? Where do you think those lucxury tax dollars go? They go to the smaller market teams . the Yankees competition. Baseball is the only business where if you are extremely successful you have to pay your competition to help them compete against you. If you don’t see why they want to get under the luxury tax tresholf you are a moron. We got 2 errenial all stars and a young payer with huge upside this offseson without spending a dime. That’s smart business and Boston can bring in davifd price and anyone else they won’t. The Yankees will be taking the division this year

I think your off base on the cheap thing although your numbers are correct. The sons of The Boss are a lot smarter then Dad. They are letting Brain Cashman build a younger Yankees and that takes a great farm system with excellent young players to replace the older more expensive guys who are at the end of there careers. The fans all seem to like this approach including me. We remember the great Yankee teams build from with in that won and won big 1960 1964 and don’t forget the Core Four 1996 2000 all teams with home grown farm hands. All the best, B.

A few things– while the Yankees could have spent another half a billion to bolster their rotation and left field, they’ve chosen to wait out a free agent market that increasingly pays players for their past accomplishments. The yankees are on the wrong side of several contracts and handing out a 10 year deal to Robinson Cano would have ended in disaster, especially considering his far below career year of 2016.

After a few years of getting burned in free agency (Jacoby, Beltran) the yankees are attempting to get more value with their dollars. While inactive in free agency, they added close to twenty million in annual salary for two all star caliber players at areas of weakness and strength.

Additionally, Forbes has the yankees operating income at 8.1 million– while they made $508 mil, they spent 500 in yearly expenses. Also you don’t account the for luxury tax that has killed the yankees and given interdivision rival tampa bay a chance to compete more then they usually could with payroll.

Hey Mike thanks for reading. I agree they’re focusing on more bang for their buck, but I’m saying that for a team with their payroll that’s not a necessary approach. Sure 10-year deals for 30-year-olds are bad news, but how about a three-year deal for Cespedes? Or a giant signing bonus for Yoan Moncada? Or even an eight-year deal for 26-year-old Jason Heyward. Or a three-year deal for any of the second-tier pitchers on the market.

As for revenue, I don’t believe for a second that, luxury tax or not, the Yankees are coming close to losing money. Because if the Yankees are barely breaking even, despite their wildly lucrative TV situation, the Tigers and Dodgers must be bankrupt. None of us know the true financial situation, but we’re watching as the most valuable franchise in American sports begins to lag behind in payroll.

Nice article, but you have to include expenses against the revenue numbers. You have factored in the luxury tax and revenue sharing numbers. I do not claim poverty for the Yankees , just that I suspect there are many other organizations that make more profit because there payroll is lower and they receive revenue sharing

I’m not so sure about that. I imagine the Yankees take in as much game-day revenue as almost any team given that attendance remains pretty good and the stadium is hugely expensive. And more importantly, the Yankees have I believe the biggest TV deal (http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/11/21/yankees-score-big-with-billion-dollar-tv-deal/) in baseball, which more than makes up for the $80 million extra a year or whatever they spend more than the average team. There’s no poverty here.

Great article! However I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they are cheap. I really think it’s a shift in philosophy towards a winning formula built through all levels of the organization. Free agent signings come with more than just a financial cost. They also, in some cases, come with the cost of having to give up the compensatory draft pick. I think the Yankees are placing a much higher value on retaining their draft position in the upper rounds in order to add depth to a thin farm system.

The is one of the most factually inaccurate and mis informational puff pieces of reporting I have ever seen. It makes it seem as if teams like the Yankees are not investing in their product however it ignores the very real expenses imposed on them by the luxury tax and revenue sharing, among other revenue and “competitive balance” transfers they have to pay to other teams. How about showing the teams percentage of revenue reinvested by including those numbers in the Payroll Number because the fact is the Yankees do pay it. So from their perspective is they may be paying $289 Million or $300 million after accounting for those benefits Lyme ya that go to other teams (meaning those other teams percentage numbers as far as revenue percentage reinvested are actually even lower than indicated). Which would put the Yankees AT OR NEAR the top of highest percentage of revenue reinvested in the team/players. Those luxury tax and competitive balance and revenue sharing taxes are real costs to the team. That money is being paid just as if it went directly to the players or other teams who don’t reinvest so it’s not fair to lump the Yankees in the “cheap” category. The Yankees are also paying a portion of each teams players to compete against them essentially. Maybe that is why Yankee fans don’t seem to be complaining as much as the writer of this article would like them to be. Those costs of revenue sharing, competitive balance and luxury tax are real costs. They support other teams And essentially a portion of most other teams payroll should be ADDED to the Yankees payroll in the chart because the YANKEES and their FANS are paying for them! They aren’t imaginary, you can’t ethically ignore those costs when calculating a comparison (unless you are truly ignorant of them in which case it’s just bad reporting, not outright propaganda, lying to and misinforming unsophisticated readers)

I think you are totally wrong, the yankees have found out that just throwing money at players doesn’t mean a championship, and whats wrong with being frugal, they still have the 2nd highest payroll in mlb and most likely will be spending quit heavily in the free agents to come, seems to me they are trying to build a team thru the draft and player development similar to the 90’s and then adding a key player here and there in free agency, i like the plan

I agree with everything you said .. except for the point about fans being content with Hal’s ways. I know a lot of Yankee fans and they hate Hal for sacrificing the ethos that George built … all for the goal of getting under the luxury cap. The Yanks used to have winning the World Series as their goal. Now their goal is to make the playoff and hope we get hot. But they will pay the price because the brand has suffered … were not the Bombers any more, we’re more like the firecrackers … who may or may not go off.

So spending more despite not winning more is the preferred strategy of Yankee fans because George did it? Yankee fans wanted “the Boss” out of power throughout the 80’s and early 90’s. The Yanks only built their championship core and had a strategy of not spending on big name free agents when he was forced out of power.

Until today I actually had a lot of respect for Northwestern University as an educational institution and thought that Northwestern was a good journalism school and provided a good journalistic education until reading this article by the author who attended there, yet wrote an article full of informational bias and devoid of investigative journalism

Maybe a follow up or add on article explaining the flip side to this story which is that when you add in the luxury tax, revenue sharing and competitive balance fees that the Yankees essentially pay to other teams, and count those in the Yankees Payroll numbers they actually pay more than most if not all teams. Also adding those numbers back in to the other teams revenue or at least acknowledging that the Yankees and other higher revenue teams do “subsidize” the rest of the teams so it’s unfair to take pure player salaries because the Yankees and and soon the Dodgers pay $.50 on every dollar over the $189 million. That’s a huge tax by itself, and compounding with the revenue sharing and other competitive balance issues the Yankees do help pay all the other teams players in some ways …. An article looking at that aspect might not be sensationalist like this one but it WOULD open the eyes of a lot of fans that have no idea of the “nitty gritty” world of baseball finance. I, for one, always welcome articles in which I learn something valuable. Your article would have been much better in my book had there not been the obvious bias and the numbers are great when they tell a true story. The numbers you listed didn’t really in fact give the whole story and that is where my interest and appreciation as a reader gets lost. But then again it may get more page views being biased since everyone loves to hate the Yankees.

Some very key factors are left out of this. 1) There is no discussion of the affect of the luxury tax on the franchise. As repeat offenders, the team pays more for a free agent than any other team, something that is never discussed by media and fans alike. Yes, the team makes a lot of money. But why should they be expected to pay an additionally for players on the open market because they have been over the tax for so long? At the very least it’s a factor that needs to be discussed. 2) Their new mentality is fiscal consciousness, not frugality. hampering the team with cumbersome contracts every so often will lock you into those players for years before being able retool. This is why teams like the Cards and Giants have been able to compete perenially through player development and merely supplementing through free agency.

The days of throwing money around every off season to build your team are very clearly over. You can’t win that way anymore. If you do not revolutionize your mentality to reflect flexibility, fiscal consciousness and player development you are cooked.

I would argue fiscal consciousness is doublespeak for frugality. Again, the Yankees, like the Dodgers, have enough money to blow past the luxury tax and barely feel it. Their attempts to sneak below the tax threshold to restart that clock have now cost the team who knows how many playoff wins. Perhaps I should have addressed that further, as you suggest.

And once again, I’m not advocating for signing every 30-year-old free agent to a 10-year-deal. I’m advocating for smart allocation of resources. Give me one good reason Yoan Moncada shouldn’t be in the Yankees system right now? Or that they shouldn’t have gone after a low-priced, free agent pitcher like Doug Fister, Rich Hill or Mat Latos to a one-year deal this offseason, for insurance if nothing else. That’s not fiscally conscious, it’s cheap.

Those are all moves that I personally was a strong advocate for. The Moncada situation seemed precarious in that they clearly coveted him and seemingly botched the negotiations due to ineptitude and questionable organization structure (i.e. Felix Lopez). However, I think those are the types of deals they should be making at this time, low risk investments that have been paying dividends recently. The Fister situation specifically, should have been ideal for them. Personally I do not view their inability to make Fister-esque deals as “cheap,” I can understand why others can.

Whatever the case was regarding Moncada the Yanks did make a bid, but were outbid by the Red Sox. I think there is a bigger discussion if they were outbid by the Marlins, but the Red Sox can spend with the Yanks and Dodgers alike.

To say the Yanks are cheap because they aren’t spending $400MM on their payroll is silly argument. They spend a lot of money on their roster and have been doing so longer than any other team in baseball, so the fact other teams are catching up to them isn’t a sign the Yanks aren’t interested in spending, but the fact the luxury tax is leveling the playing field which was the exact intent of the luxury tax and why it was set at the level it was set in 2001 and why the Yanks have paid it every single year. The system was created to keep the Yanks from outspending everyone and it has worked.

In addition they made a trade to add a closer that added $11.35 MM to their payroll. they added $37 MM over the next 4 yrs with Starling Castro…that is adding salary without having to outbid anyone in pure salary. This is smart business not being frugal or cheap.

Mr putter man you are wrong about the yankees being cheap.YOU are probably the same writer who would decry the fact that the yankee’s are trying to “BUY” a championship .I am very happy that they have finally decided to go the youth route bypassing over aged over contracted players.What has it gotten us lately. cashman is in a lose lose situation if he does that.Win & they say we have the highest payroll[how did that workout for the Dodgers?]Lose & they say we waisted our money.I have enjoyed watching the current team.I started watching the young guys in the minors.Now I am invested in their trip to the top.I highly recommend it.This is how you build a team.Ask the Mets.They have grown into a team that has been embraced by their fans & rightly so.Go write a story about the dog show or something else that you also know little about.This yankee team is a year or two away from reaching their potential .It will be a fun ride.Jump on or complain.I know what I am going to do!

I’m glad they haven’t spent money on free agents and I wasn’t happy with the contracts given to Ellsbury and Beltran. The only time I’ve been upset during this spending freeze was when they let the Red Sox sign Moncada. I couldn’t understand it. It would have been much better if they let Headley go and instead used that money to get Moncada. I didn’t understand what they were trying to do. Most people knew that was an average team so instead of signing Headley why not just build their farm system. I wish they would’ve she’d some more payroll and gotten rid of Gardner this offseason. Unless those guys put up numbers like they’re capable of, and playing at least 150 games, I don’t like that outfield.

Alex as a yankee fan I am 100% behind going young.The yankees do not need to win every year.I just want to see steady progress.It did not workout for the dodgers having the highest payroll.We will win over any Fickled fans when the young guys kick in & start some excitement ..

I can get behind not extending Cano
I can get behind not signing David Price

I understand that those long term deals for players in their 30s don’t give enough return value and I’m fine with avoiding them.

However, there’s no justification for not signing Yoan Moncada.

The Yankees biggest hole the past 2 years has been 2B. Not just at the ML level but at an organizational level. Then a unique opportunity presents itself where you can basically buy a player who is the quality equivalent of a top 5 pick in the draft. At exactly the biggest area of need in your organization, and you lose out on him to your rival team over $5million. The Red Sox signed him even though they had Pedroia, Mookie Betts, Brock Holt, etc.
I’ve been a Yankee fan now for 20 years and it’s one of if not the most indefensible move in my recollection.

They claim they’re not spending because they want to get younger, but then pass on the best opportunity presented to them.

And that’s not the only one.

If you’re going to sit out the market on 7+ year deals for 30 year olds, I applaud your responsibility.

But where were you on Jason Heyward, who is 26 and one of the best players in baseball?

Where were you on Chapman, Puig, Soler, Cespedes, Thomas, etc? All guys in their early- to mid 20s who signed initially far cheaper than similar production in free agency.

Where were you on reasonable deals for guys like Liriano, Kazmir, Gallardo, Fister, Volquez, Hammel, Minor, Medlen, etc?

Do you know why they signed Tanaka and not any of the other international free agents? Because Tanaka is the only one who brings them back revenue, and they weren’t going to risk losing the Asian market dollars. It had very little to do with it being a unique opportunity to add a young talented player, because they’ve passed up every other similar opportunity that’s been presented to them.

Do you know why they don’t roll the dice on any cheap back end starters with upside? Because they’re paying Sabathia $25million and they’re going to keep pitching him even though he hasn’t been any good since 2012, for as long as they are paying him.

The Yankees had a $200mil payroll over 10 years ago. Since then, every teams payroll has more than doubled. The Dodgers are carrying a $300mil + payroll and bring in less revenue than the Yankees. The Yankees can comfortably go to $300mil, paying the luxury tax and still turn a profit. Their biggest advantage to being the Yankees and playing in the NY market is being able to outspend everyone, when it makes sense to do so.

They’ve been completely punting their advantage now for the past few years. It’s frustrating and after going to 20+ games a year from 96-2014 the past couple of years I’ve only gone to one game. Because if they’re going to complain about the luxury tax and payroll in a sport without a damn salary cap that they can’t afford to get better, then I’m going to complain that I can’t afford expensive seats and $20 for a hot dog and soda.

It’s the Yankees and I love them and always will, but if Bryce Harper isn’t wearing pinstripes when he fits free agency, we’re gonna have a big problem.

I’m sorry, but the Yankees are anything but cheap. I understand your reasoning however if you didn’t notice the team is 2nd in all of baseball payroll wise. Most teams don’t even have the luxury of spending as much as the Yankees have right now let alone going beyond that. Even though the Yankees can spend money doesn’t mean that they should. Even though they cannot say it, they are not a World Series contending team right now and won’t be until those bad contract come off the books. The team is locked in with certain players at certain positions. They have no flexibility to add a player in the infield right now, the outfield is overcrowded. They need to make room for the homegrown talent. I assure you around 2018-2019 when the new players have come up to the majors and all of those contracts are gone that’s when the spending will start to fill in holes or even make upgrades. But at the moment no they are not being cheap. In fact this even shows how pampered Yankees fans are. When they complain about not spending money with a 200 million + payroll, and how the Yankees keep missing the postseason ( if you don’t count this year it has only been 3 years). Yankees fans just need to realize it’s part of the plan to not have a team filled with overpaid veterans, and having a homegrown young team.

I am a Yankees fan and have been all my life. I feel that the Yankees are being smart this offseason and planning for bigger things to come. You make being cheap sound like a sin, concluding the owners are just cheap and greedy, and I really don’t agree.
They are being cheap, but being cheap now is what will ultimately make the Yankees a powerhouse a few years from now. I’m not saying the Yankees are a lock to get someone like a Bryce Harper in 2018 free agency, which would be great, but I love what Cashman is doing with the Yankees team. There are many big contracts that need to go away such as Sabathia, A Rod, and Teixeira; however, they have made many nice additions like Castro, Hicks and Chapman without losing major prospects.
With Cashman loading the team with younger, cheaper talent now, he will be able to sign most, if not all of them back to bigger contracts later. Then when the Yankees have Judge, Bird, and Severino all playing major roles on the ball club(as well as possibly Mateo, Sanchez, Kaprielian and Refsnyder), Cashman will be able to bolster the team with free agent additions to complement the team. I’m excited for what the Yankees future holds with their youth movement.

The Yankees haven’t done dittly squat I like to see the Yankees be contenders cashman and girardi needs to go bring in Lou pinella to turn this team around they are not listening to what daddy says daddy wants to spend and he benefits from it the kids are not spending do what your told George wants the best players go and get them read my lips GO AND GET THEM

Alex, you have thought through and clearly identified several things about the new Yankee method of building a team that the rest of us have been carrying around in the back of our minds. One other thing that needs to be mentioned is the fact that for the first time in decades the organizational head of the Yankees has to answer to shareholders. George Steinbrenner was the unquestioned head of the organization and answered to no one. Hal Steinbrenner has relatives who have a vote on how the team is run, and some of them may have agendas where winning the World Series is secondary.

I enjoyed this article very much. I think very valid and interesting points. While I am OK with the Yankees being a little cheap and I think his last point regarding spending and not having anything to show for it is very much how I’ve felt. It is still true that the Yanks absolutely could spend a little more which could possibly translate to additional wins and perhaps even winning the wildcard game. The one absolute is The Boss would NEVER sit on his hands for the amount of time that his boys are. Winning was always the goal and money simply came along with it. Which still remains true today. So if the Yankees spend and that translates to another championship it only makes the Steinbrenners more money. So where exactly is the downside?